Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 aircraft has achieved its fastest speeds yet, blasting towards its goal of surpassing the speed of sound.
During its seventh test flight on November 5, the experimental aircraft reached a new top speed of Mach 0.82, or 1,012 kilometers (629 miles) per hour.
Since its first flight in March 2024, XB-1 has been successively ramping up its effort to achieve the speed of sound (Mach 1), which is just over 1,234 kilometers (767 miles) per hour. Although the plane is still short of achieving that feat for now, its string of successful flights suggests it is well on the way to that target.
“XB-1, Boom’s supersonic demonstrator aircraft, continues to progress toward Mach 1,” Boom Supersonic said in a statement after the seventh test flight.
“Flight seven focused on flutter envelope expansion and cockpit pressure testing in order to ensure safe performance and handling qualities as XB-1 approaches supersonic speeds and higher altitudes,” the aerospace company added.
The latest test flight was piloted by Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School. Along with breaking the plane’s speed record, his flight also reached new heights with a record altitude of 7,014 meters (23,015 feet).
The XB-1 program is being used to inform the design and development of Overture, Boom’s planned supersonic airliner they hope to turn into a commercial operation.
The Overture aircraft is still in its early development phase, but the company suggests it could become a greener successor to Concorde, the supersonic passenger-carrying commercial airplane that could cruise at Mach 2.
Concorde flew paying passengers between 1976 and 2003, but it ultimately failed because supersonic travel was becoming increasingly expensive and demand for seats on the planes slumped. Another nail in the coffin was the fatal Air France Flight 4590 crash in 2000, which killed 113 people. The pointy-nosed plane also burned a lot of fossil fuels and kicked out a lot of pollution, something that Boom Supersonic is very keen to avoid.
“I’ve been waiting over 20 years for an environmentally friendly successor to Concorde and XB-1’s first flight is a major landmark towards my dreams being realized. When I last flew Concorde in 2003 I knew that this day would come. The first flight of the XB-1 supersonic demonstrator is a significant achievement toward making sustainable supersonic flight a reality, aboard Overture – my #1 choice as the successor to Concorde,” said Captain Mike Bannister, former Chief Concorde Pilot for British Airways.
XB-1 is not the only novel supersonic plane in development in the US, either. NASA has been quietly working on the X-59, an experimental aircraft that can fly faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom – a feat that’s easier said than done.
